1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a vehicle occupant recognition and verification system and, more particularly, to a method and system for recognizing and verifying the identity of a driver and front seat passenger of a vehicle, which gathers height, weight, and gender information about the driver and passenger, uses the information along with vehicle data such as seat position to identify the driver and passenger from a database of known individuals, and provides detailed data about the driver and passenger to various safety and convenience systems onboard the vehicle.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many modern vehicles include systems for automatically positioning a driver seat and mirrors to a configuration which has been previously defined and stored for a particular driver. These systems can faithfully restore the driver seat and mirrors to a combination of locations and orientations which were previously set and stored by a driver. Some such systems can adjust the driver seat and mirrors to the preferred settings of a driver before the driver even enters the vehicle, by using a remote keyless entry key fob or other identifier to trigger the pre-adjustment. Other systems can configure radio, climate control, and other sub-systems to a driver's preferred settings, in addition to the seat and mirrors.
The systems described above all share a fundamental limitation—that is, they can only restore cockpit configuration to settings previously defined and stored for individual drivers. And systems known in the art cannot verify that the person sitting in the driver seat is actually the driver indicated by a remote keyless entry key fob activation or a button push. Existing systems also cannot anticipate optimum settings for safety systems based upon information about the size of the driver. Nor can existing systems automatically provide detailed data about the driver and passenger in the event of an accident.
There is an opportunity to store detailed profile data about individuals who may be a driver or front seat passenger of a vehicle, and use the data to verify the identity of the driver and front seat passenger each time the vehicle is driven. The profile data can be used to adjust the cockpit for optimal comfort and convenience, used to configure safety systems for maximum benefit, and communicated to rescue personnel in the event of a vehicle accident or emergency. The method is also applicable to rear seat passengers. A vehicle which includes these features would offer significant benefits to the consumer, while enhancing the market appeal of the vehicle for the manufacturer.